Sofa-bed



151.. GRUENFELD, JR.

SOFA BED.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

J -J. GRUENFELD SOFA-BED. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3. 1916-.

Patented Sept.

14,1920. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

III'" lllillll SOFA BEDI APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13. 1916.

v Pat ntedSept. 14,1920;

' 3 SH EETSSHEET 3- I i i I ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES,

PAT NT I orsics,

'JULIUs J. GRUENFELZD, .13., or CHICAGO, I Iimois.

SOFA-BED.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS J. GRUENFELD, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and StateofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSofa-Beds, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription. I

, The invention relates to sofa beds.

One object of the invention is to provide improved connecting devicesbetween a sofa frame and a bed composed of 'foldably connected sections,whereby, in the course of swinging the bed from a closedto an openposition, it will move about different fulcra in succession asdistinguished from a combined sliding and pivotal connection or adifferential link Connection.

By providing connections by which the bed is caused to swing insuccession about differently disposed fulcrum points, the bed will swingin such a manner as to render available some of the space to the rear.of and below the bed forstorage'ofbedding, etc, without enlarging thesofa frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide improvedconnecting-devices be,- tween the frame and the bed, which are simple inconstruction, may be easily operatedand. can be produced at a low cost.Other objects of the invention will appear from the detail description.

The invention-consists in the several novel features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at'the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: vFigure 1 is a vertical transverse section of a sofabed. embodying the invention, the bed being shown closed. Fig. 2 is asimilar view, showing the bed open. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33of Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a horizontal section taken on line 44l of Fig. 1.Fig. 5 is aface view of one of the slotted plates secured to thestationary sofa frame. Fig. 6 is an end view ofthe stud-plate fixed tothe bed frame. Figs.-7, 8, and 9 are detail views of the stud plate andslotted fulcrum plate showing them in the positions assumed when the bedis closed, when it has been opened half way and in open position. Fig.

10 is a transverse section of-a modification sofa bed, showing theinvention applied to a five-section folding bed, the bed being 'saidframe.

same showing the bed closed.

- Patented Sept. 14, 1920.

-App1ication filed September 13, 1916. Serial No. 119,817. 2

The sofa bed comprises essentially asofa frame which may be of anysuitable construction or design and a bed formed of foldably connectedsections and movably mounted in the frame so that it can be spread inopen position or folded under the which are suitably cross-connected andsecured together in'spaced relation by bars 15 between which theback-rest 16 is disposed. In the form of the invention illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2, the bed comprises a section 17, a section 19 and anintermediate section 18. .It will be understood by those skilled n theart that a spring-bed bottom- (not shown) is connected to the bedsections to continuously support the mattress. The section 17 comprisesside-bars 17 and an end bar 17", The section 19 comprises side bars 19and across-bar 19*. Usually all of these bars of the bed sections are ofangle iron.

The section17 is rigidly secured to a seat frame 20 and a sofa-seat 21is built upon The side bars of section 18 are pivotally connected to thesection 19 and the section 17 is pivotally connected to the SldG bars ofthe intermediate-section 18.

When the bed is closed, the sofa seat will beupon the top of the seatframe 20 and seat. The sofa frame comprises sides 14: I

underside of the seat. Intermediate section' I 18 will extend downwardlyfrom the section adjacent the front of the seat and the section 17 .willextend r'earwardly from the lower end of the intermediate section.Latches 36 hinged to the side bars of the section 17 are adapted to beswung into position to hold the section 19 so that a mattress will beheld between the bed sections when the sofa is closed. The front board22 is hinged, as at 23, to the seat frame to conceal the bed sectionsand mattress when the sofa is closed.

A device for movably connecting the seat frame and bed to the sofa frameis proscrews26 to the seat frame,20 and a plate 27 secured to one of thesofaframe sides 14' by screws 28. A spacer plate 29 is interposedbetween each fulcrum plate and one side 14 of the sofa frame, and'hasslots 34 therein to provide clearance for the heads 24". and 25 of thestuds 24 and 25. plate 27 is formed withintersecting-arcuate slots 30and 31, in the lower ends of which studs 24 and 25 are fulcrumed or heldin alternating succession. Each of the slots 30 and 31 is substantiallyquadrantal so that each stud 24, acts as a fulcrum, for about 90 ofmovement and collectively the studs act 'as fulcra for about '180" ofmovement.

The studs at the opposite ends of the seat frame are coaxial and theslots in the plates 27 are correspondingly disposed so that the bed andseat will simultaneously swing on corresponding studs. For assemblingthe stud plates and the'slotted plates, openings 32 and 33 connectingwith slots and 31,

4 respectively are provided to permit the heads of the studs on theplate 26 to be passed through the slotted plates until the reducedportions of the studs pass transversely into position to slip into theslots 30 and-31. disposed where bothstud heads will not pass intoregistry with them during the opening or closing of the bed.

When the bed is closed and the seat is in operative position, studs 25will bear in the lower ends of the slots 31 and studs 24 will bedisposed adjacent the upper ends of the slots 30 (Fig. 7). WVhen theseat and bed are turned over to give access to the bed, studs 25,bearing in the lowerends of slots 31, will act as a fixed pivot.orfulcrum for the seatand bed, while the studs 24 will move forwardly anddownwardly in arcuate slots 30 until they encounter the lower ends ofsaid slots (Fig. 8). When the seat and bed are approximately in verticalposition, fur-- ther forward movement thereof will cause studs 24 to actas a fulcrum and studs 25 rested, whereupon the stud which first actedas a pivot will be caused to swing around the other stud as a fulcrumwhich, atthat 1 time, is advantageously disposed to give the desireddirection of travel to the seat and bed duringthe latter portion of itsmovement. These devices further exemplify stud-andslot connectionsbetween the fold- These openings 32 and 33 areable bed and the frame bywhich the studs become active in alternating successionand in which theseat frame is successively piv l oted about fixed fulcra. Each Thesestud-and slot connections are simple in construction and render shiftingof the seat comparatively easy, because sliding friction is eliminated.Another attribute of these devices is that when the seatis closed or inoperative position, the fulcrum about which the initial movement of theseat occurs, is disposed so that the rear end ofthe seatwill disposedfulcrum has been completechthe ether stud then in a forwardly disposedposition becomes active and the seat moves downwardly and forwardly toan inverted position where thebed sections will be BX-I posed so theycan be readily manipulated to form a bed. I

A box 37 for the pillows and other bed. ding, if desired, is provided inthe lower rear portion of the seat frame and extends longitudinallybetween the sides thereof. The front 37 of this box is inclined so thatthe section 19 will clear it during the initial upward movement of theseati'n opening the sofa.

Counterbalance springs '38, one at each end of the seat, have theirfront lower ends connected to the front board 22 and their rear endsconnected to links 39 which are securedto the sofa frame, at 40.

swing upwardly and forwardly, and so that v These springs aid in liftingand tilting the seat and bed during the initial. upward movement thereofin opening the sofa. Springs 38 and links 39 are disposed so that thesprings will be inactive after the seat has passed approximately to avertical position and during the time when it is being loweredfromvertical to its forwardly extending position. VVhen-the seat is inoperative position, the seat-frame 20 rests upon lugs 41 secured to theframe-sides '14. Springs 42 are connected to the front board 22 and tothe side-bars of section 19 to hold the front board in substantiallyhorizontal position, as shown in Fig. 2, "when the bed is open. A

The operation of the sofa bed will be as follows: When the sofa isclosed, the parts i will be in position shown in Fig.1. When the sofa isto be used as a bed, the seat will be turned over, the operator graspingthe usual handle 44 secured to the back of the seat and pulling itupwardly and forwardly. Springs 88 will materially aid the operator,particularly during the initial movement, at which time, the majorportion of the weight of the seat and bed will be back of the fulcrumstud 25 on which the seat is being swung. During the first 90 of themovement of the seat, the latter will pivot Qon the fulcrum studs 25which are disposed comparatively low with respect to the seatframe sothat the rear portion of the seat will swing upwardly and forwardly andclear the back. and studs 24 will pass downwardly and forwardly in slots30. Vhen the seat has reached approximately an uprightposition, studs 24will seat in the lower end of slot 30. During further forward pull uponthe seat, the latter will pivot on studs 24 and studs 25 will swingupwardly in slots 31 until they reach the upper front ends of saidslots, whereupon the further movement of the seat will be arrested.During this forward movement of the seat, the front board 22 will beshifted withthe seat. When the seat has been overturned, the

storage compartment is readily accessible by lifting section 19, forremoval or replacement of extra bed clothes. Vhen the seat has beeninverted, the bed-sections 18 and 19 will be swung rearwardly into theposition shown in Fig. 2 and then the bed will be in open position, allof the sections being alined to form a bed bottom, and front board 22will be raised into horizontal position shown in said figure andheldsuspended there by sprin s 42.

Legs 46 are pivotally' connected to bedsection 17 and are adapted to beswung into position to support the front end of said. section when thebed is open, as shown in Fig. 2.

To close the bed. sections 18 and 19 are swung into position indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 2 and are secured together in Such position bylatch 36. It will be understood that the spring-bed bottom connected tothese sections and the mattress thereon may be folded with the sections.The seat with the bed sections connected thereto will then be swungbackwardly and upwardly, pivoting on studs 2% while the studs 25 movedownwardly and rearwardly toward and into the lower ends of slots 31passes the vertical position, studs 25 will seat in the lower ends ofslots 31 and thereafter will act as a fulcrum during the downward andrearward movement while studs 24 move upwardly and rearwardly in slots30 until the seat is restored to the position shown in Fig. 1.

' Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate the invention applied to a five-section bedcomprising a medial section 5O secured to the seat frame 20. a shortsection 51 pivoted to section 50, at 52, a short section pivoted tosection 50. at 54, a head-section pivoted to section 51. at 56. and afoot-section 57 pivoted to section at 58. The pivotal connectionsbetween the sofa frame and the seat frame are precisely the same asthose described in connection with the form of the As the seat inventionshown in Figs. 1 and 2. A storage compartment 59 is disposed tothe rearof and below the seat frame and is provided with a front 60 which ishinged as at 61 to the sofa-frame to provide access to thecompartment.When the bed is closed,.the sections will assume the position shown inFig. 11 and when open, the position shown in Fig. 10. -Legs 62 arepivoted to the rear cross-bar of the seat to support the latter when thebed is open and legs 63 are pivoted to the front of the foot section 57to support ingjoints is eliminated, and in which the fulcrum points'areadvantageously disposed so that. the bed sections will clear the storagespace in swinging-so that the seat and bed sections may be shifted withease. I

The inventon is not to be understood as restricted to the details setforth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appendedclaims; without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what ,I claim as new and desire tosecure byLetters Patent, is:

1. In a sofa bed, the combination of a sofa frame, a bed comprisingfoldably connected sections and connections between the sides of the bedand the frame respectively, each comprising a plurality of pivots andmeans for causing them to be successively and alternately held tosuccessively act as stationary fulcra about which the bed swings, thecorresponding pivots of the connections being coaxially disposed tocause bothends of the bed to successively swing about dif ferentlydisposed stationary fulcra. 2. In a sofa bed, the combination of a sofaframe, a bed comprising foldably connected sections and connectionsbetween the sides of the bed and the frame respectively,

each comprising a.plurality of pivots and means for causing them to besuccessively and alternately held to successively act as stationaryfulcra about which the bed swings, the corresponding pivots of theconnections being coaxially disposed to cause both ends of the bed tosuccessively swing about differently disposed stationary fulcra, saidpivots being movable vertically to alternately bring one of them abovethe other.

3. In a sofa bed, the combination of a sofa frame, a seat frame, pivotalconnections between the sofa and seat frames, a bed comprising foldablyconnected sections, supported by the seat frame, a front board hinged-totheseat frame so it will underlie a portion of the bed when theseat-frame is inverted, and a spring connection between the bed and thefront board to govern the position of the front-board with respect tothe folding sections of the bed-frame.

4. In a sofa bed, the combination of a sofa frame, a seat frame, pivotalconnections between the sofzi and seat frames, a bed coInprisingfoldably connected sections, sup-.10

the bed and the front board to govern the 15 position of the front-boardwith respect to the foldinq sections of the bed-frame.

JfiLins J. GRUENFELD, JR.

